Mountain Winery wants to build hotel and homes in Saratoga

The owners of a 600-acre winery and concert venue in Silicon Valley want to squeeze in a boutique hotel and more than 250 homes.

Chateau Masson, owner of Mountain Winery, has filed preliminary plans to add the 81-room hotel and housing at 14831 Pierce Road in the hills of unincorporated Santa Clara County near Saratoga, southwest of San Jose, the San Jose Mercury News and SFGate reported.

The project, dubbed Encore at The Mountain Winery, would include 71 single-family homes, 31 triplexes and 145 apartments, of which 51 units would be set aside as affordable.

The development will also include two parks and a clubhouse and pool for residents. A timeline for construction was not disclosed.

“We view Encore as a complementary use to what the Mountain Winery has become,” Bill Hirschman, co-owner of the winery, said in a statement. “This plan helps us complete a long-held vision for the site that will serve the community well and create a more cohesive entertainment, living and visiting experience.”

The project, designed by Pleasanton-based Dahlin Group, seeks to preserve most of the winery, while focusing new development in small areas that had been previously developed, including parking, according to the Mercury News.

A project map shows single-family homes that line looping roads to the west, with triplexes grouped around the apartments to the west, not far from the hotel, clubhouse and pool.

The proposal comes after Saratoga turned in its fifth draft of its state-required housing element, or blueprint to build 1,712 homes by 2031. The plan was supposed to be certified by January last year.

Chateau Masson, owned by Hirschman, filed the hotel and housing plans under the builder’s remedy, a provision in state housing law that allows developers with projects containing at least 20 percent affordable housing to skirt zoning rules in areas that haven’t certified their state housing plans, according to SFGate.

In early 2020, the City of Saratoga considered annexing the winery as part of a plan to add a 300-room hotel. 

After strong pushback from neighbors who said increased traffic could create a safety hazard in an area prone to wildfires, the Saratoga Planning Commission decided against annexation, killing the development. 

For its new project, the winery addressed fire and safety concerns by working with fire consultants on a “comprehensive plan” that includes increased detection and suppression tools, according to the news release. 

“We will be safer and more protected after Encore than before it,” Hirschman said in a statement.

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The Mountain Winery, founded more than a century ago, was once a haunt for celebrities, socialites and politicians, including John Steinbeck, Charlie Chaplin and President Herbert Hoover.

After it fell into disrepair, Hirschman and other investors bought the property 25 years ago for an undisclosed price, then revamped Chateau Masson, the winery and popular summer concert venue.

— Dana Bartholomew